1. Painful Disease States
a. Pathophysiology
1) Acute Pain 
2) Cancer-Related Pain
3) Chronic Pain States
a) Acute and Chronic Neck and Low Back Pain
b) Neuropathic Pain States
(1) Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Types I and II
(2) Postherpetic Neuralgia
(3) Phantom Limb, Post-Stroke
(4) Peripheral Neuropathies (e.g., Diabetic Neuropathy)
c) Somatic Pain Conditions: Myofascial Pain, Facet Arthropathy, etc.
b. Treatment
1) Acute Postoperative and Posttraumatic Pain
a) Postoperative Epidural Analgesia
b) Neuraxial Opioids
c) Peripheral Nerve Blockade and Catheters
d) Patient-Controlled Analgesia
e) Other Modalities, Multimodal Analgesia (Nonsteroidal Analgesics, Electrical Stimulation, Acupuncture, Ketamine, etc.)
2) Cancer-Related Pain
a) Systemic Medications, Tolerance and Addiction
b) Continuous Spinal and Epidural Analgesia
c) Neurolytic and Non-Neurolytic Blocks
d) World Health Organization Analgesic Ladder
3) Chronic Pain (Non-Cancer-Related)
a) Systemic Medications: Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), Opioid Analgesics, Anticonvulsants, Antidepressants
b) Spinal and Epidural Analgesia
c) Peripheral Nerve Blocks
d) Sympathetic Nerve Blocks
e) Other Techniques: TENS, Spinal Cord Stimulation, Neuroablation (Surgical and Chemical Neurolysis
2. Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems
a. Physiology
1) Pain Mechanisms and Pathways
a) Nociceptors and Nociceptive Afferent Neurons, Wind-Up Phenomenon
b) Dorsal Horn Transmission and Modulation
c) Spinal and Supraspinal Neurotransmission and Modulation; Opioid Receptors
d) Autonomic Contributions to Pain; Visceral Pain Perception and Transmission
e) Social, Vocational and Psychological Influences on Pain Perception
3. Postoperative Period
a. Pain Relief
1) Pharmacologic
a) Drugs: Opioids, Agonist-Antagonists, Local Anesthetics, Alpha-2 Agonists, Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) Receptor Blockers, tricyclic antidepressants (TCA), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)
b) Routes: Oral, Subcutaneous (SC), Transcutaneous, Transmucosal, Intramuscular (IM), Intravenous (IV), Including Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA), Epidural, Spinal, Interpleural, Other Regional Techniques
2) Other Techniques; Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS); Cryotherapy; Acupuncture, Hypnosis
